Key guide for a lock



June 28, 1960 R. R. MARCHESE 2,942,452

KEY GUIDE FOR A LOCK Filed Jan. 23, 1958 F/gJ Raymond R Marchese INVENTOR.

United States Patent cc KEY GUIDE FOR A LOCK Raymond R. Marchese, 220 Catskill, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Filed Jan. 23, 1958, Ser. No. 710,677

1 Claim. (Cl. 70-454) The present invention relates to a key-operated lock .such as is used in a door or similar construction and pertains, more particularly, to a Yale or cylinder lock having a keyhole for a readily insertable and removable key. More specifically, the concept has to do with a simple, practical and economical key guide which, while it may be made as a projecting part of the face of the barrel or cylinder of the lock is usually made as a separate component, its purpose being to enable one to find the keyhole and to thus readily place the shank of the key into the keyhole or slot with a minimum of difiiculty.

While the invention was primarily devised with a View toward facilitating placement of the key in the dark, so to speak, it is just as practical and highly desirable as [means for guiding and piloting the key say, for example, when one has her arms full of bundles, perhaps has to swing the screen door or storm door open and prop it as best she can and attempt, with a single band, to insert the key. Almost everyone has encountered such ditficulties at one time or another and it is therefore the object of this invention to make it simple and virtually fool-proof to line up the tip of the shank of the key with the keyhole slot in an easy-to-manage manner.

In carrying out the invention the guide may take the form of a simple and expedient metal or equivalent collar. Externally an end portion is threaded to connect the collar with the door and outwardly of this there is a flange providing a stop or an abutment to engage the surface of the door. Interiorly the collar is recessed to provide what is here described as a truncated conical cavity. The truncated inner end is of a diameter approximately the same as the length of the'keyhole slot and consequently the key is guided into the slot with certainty. The outer end of the cavity is sufiiciently large in diameter and in fact generally of a diameter greater than the cross-section of the barrel or cylinder of the lock to provide an unobstructed targe and to in this manner land the key in its starting position;

Novelty is also predicated on having a key with a flat sided generally 'wedge-shapedhead which is of a length greater than the depth of the cavity or recess and 7 having converging upper and lower edges and preferin elevation and in position, showing the improved key and also showing in section, the key guide and how it is constructed and used.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the construction seen and the flat exterior surface or front of the door is deprovides a shoulder which abuts the door surface.

' barrel.

Patented June as, 1960 in Fig. l observing the same in a direction from right toleft.-. Fig.3 is a perspective view with the key removed.

In the drawing the door or other. closure in which the lock is to be mounted is denoted by the numeral 6 noted at 8. The cylinder or barrel-type lock is denoted generally by the numeral 10. Obviously, the specific construction of this is no part of the invention except in combination therewith. The keyhole slot is seen uncovered in Fig. 3 and is denoted by the numeral 12 and is adapted to accommodate the customary shank portion 14 of the key. As before mentioned the key which 7 is preferably used in connection with this invention is not the conventional type. Instead the head 16 thereof is fiat-sided and elongated so that it will be of sufficient length to operate in conjunction with the cooperating guide 18. To this end, the upper and lower edges 20 and Z1 slope or slant at the desired angle to merge with the shank of the key. Also there is a finger notch 22 in the upper edge at the outer end portion 24 which assists one in feeling the proper edge of the key to be inserted in a somewhat vertical position.

The guide, as before stated, comprises an annular member which may be described either as a ring or a collar. Exteriorly the inner end portion is slightly reduced and screw-threaded at 2.6 so that it may be mounted in the mortise or socket 28 in the door. The outer enlarged end portion defines a flange 30 and 32 The recess or cavity as before stated is of truncated conical form and is denoted generally by the numeral 34. The outer larger end which forms a lip 36 constitutes the en trance and provides in effect a large target to facilitate landing the key in the cavity. The truncated inner end 38 is of a diameter that is approximately the same as the length of the keyhole or in such dimensions in relation thereto that it merges with and properly lines up with the keyhole or keyhole slot.

As seen in Fig. 1 the threaded end portion is screwed or otherwise mounted in the socket and thus the inner end of the collar- 40 abuts the face of the cylinder or The diameter of the mouth is greater than the cross-section of the barrel to promote satisfactory results.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and de-v scribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed, as new is as follows: A key guide comprising a collar having a screw threaded end portion adapted to be screwed into the screw threaded portion of a door mortise and having a shoulder portion adapted to abut the cooperating surface of a door, said collar being readily applicable and removable and provided centrally with a truncated, conical recess, said recess providing a deflecting and piloting cavity for a cooperating portion of an insertable and removable key, the truncated end of the recess being adapted to be alinged with a shallow recess in the cylinder of a cylinder-type lock, the outer ,end of said recess being of a predetermined diameter greater than the cross-section of said cylinder, whereby when the shank of a key is inserted into the recess at any point and is moved toward the truncated end, it will be guided and aligned with the truncated end.

. (References on following page) Referenees Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Budd et a1. Nov. 8, 1 887 Easley Mar. 6, 1894 5 Caley et a1. Feb. 20, 1906 Katzenberger Feb. 4, 1908 Arens et a1 Feb. 20, 1912 4 Voight et a1. Apr. 23, 1912 Brickley Ian. 28, 1919 Raab Aug. 30, 1921 Schlumpf May 12, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Aug. 27, 1951 Germany Feb. 16, 1953 

